


The Professor's Paramour

by The_Erudite



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-17
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23539513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Erudite/pseuds/The_Erudite
Summary: A rumor is making the rounds in Garreg Mach: the newest professor seems to be making secret rendezvouses with someone... This is a matter of great interest to all the students, who rarely see the professor so much as crack a smile. Such intrigue calls for a serious investigation.
Kudos: 6





	The Professor's Paramour

The routine had been mirrored perfectly three weeks in a row. No doubt about it, she was absolutely onto something. The only thing to do now was keep out of sight, and she could finally see the road to its end: through the main hall, a hello to Ashe, and then—

"What do you think you're doing?"

Dorothea let out a particularly undignified gasp as she stumbled back. She looked up and saw Felix scowling at her. That was nothing new—his default expression was a scowl—but in this case, she was thrown off because of her earlier concentration. "Felix!" she admonished him, "Don't come springing out of nowhere like that! You almost scared me to death!"

"You seem fine to me," he replied. "More importantly, I want to know why you're skulking around the monastery like a stray cat."

"Oh, Feelie… is that what you think of me? A little lost kitty? I guess you're not that far off…"

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but you'd better knock it off." He scowled a little more. Dorothea needed to remind herself that Felix did _not_ play by her normal set of rules.

"All right, all right. You've spoiled it, anyway."

"So, are you going to tell me exactly what you were up to? Staying out of sight isn't usually your gimmick. Were you trying to follow someone?"

"Don't you think it's rude to be asking a woman her business like that, Feelie?"

"First, don't call me that. Second, do I seem like the type of person who's bothered by other people's definition of 'rude?'"

"I swear, you are no fun at all."

"What's all the commotion, you two?" They turned their heads. Annette was waving to them, followed closely by Mercedes.

"Annie and I were just about to sit down for lunch, but we heard you shouting from all the way down in the dining hall," Mercedes explained.

"Ask this one." Felix jabbed a finger at Dorothea.

"I was just making an observation. That is, until Felix Funkiller over here got in my way." She placed her hand over her chest, indignant.

"What kind of observation?" asked Annette.

Dorothea's eyes shifted. "Well, I don't mind telling you, sweet little Annie, but it's a very sensitive subject, one I'm not sure I'm comfortable sharing with a member of the rougher sex around." She glared at Felix. He reciprocated. Then Mercedes and Annette looked at him expectantly.

Felix threw his hands up. "All right, fine. This conversation was already a waste of my time. Just try not to walk right into anyone else. Clumsy girl…"

The three ladies waited for Felix to leave earshot before any of them spoke up. Annette was giddy now: "So, what was this all about? Sounds like something juicy!"

"Juicy indeed," Dorothea agreed, "I think I might have stumbled upon the best bit of gossip in all of Garreg Mach."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense!" Annette pumped her fists.

"All right, but keep it between us, okay? I don't want this getting around the whole monastery. At least, not until I learn more." Annette and Mercedes nodded. "Right, so, it started about three weeks ago. I was heading back to my room to change and freshen up before I went out on a little lunch date. As I was walking by, I saw the professor coming my way. Of course, I said hello, but he seemed a little distracted. I was busy too, so I didn't think anything of it. Then, the next week, I was headed over to talk to Petra, and I saw him again, only this time, he was carrying a bouquet of flowers!"

"But… the professor is usually carrying a few flowers," said Mercedes. "I always see him running out of the greenhouse and handing them out to people. I don't really understand why, but it does seem to make people happy…"

"This was more than just a handful of flowers," Dorothea continued, "it was a proper arrangement, you see? I was a little intrigued, so I stopped to see where he was going, and I realized he was headed out through the courtyard. I wanted to find out where he was going to end up, but I didn't want to keep Petra waiting. Last week, I tried tracking him down, but he spotted me, and struck up a conversation. He didn't stop talking until I excused myself, so I assume he was on to me. I was finally about to nail it down this week until Felix got in my way."

"So, the gossip is that the professor was carrying an arrangement of flowers?" said Annette. "Uh, sorry Dorothea, but I don't know if that's really so mind-blowing…"

"Oh, sweet, naïve Annie," Dorothea shook her head. "Don't you understand the implication of carrying a beautiful bundle of blooms like that?"

"I… guess not?" She shrugged.

Dorothea folded her arms. "It's my belief that our dear professor is sweet on someone in this very monastery. That's who the flowers are for!"

"Oh!" Annette's eyes widened. "You really think so? Someone in the monastery?"

"If all I know about love is true—and that's quite a bit—yes. So, long story short, I was hoping I'd get to see what kind of girl had captured the professor's eye."

"Maybe we shouldn't pry," Mercedes suggested. "It's not really any business of ours."

"Aw, c'mon Mercie! Aren't you just the slightest bit curious about who the professor likes?" Annette's eyes shone. "We hardly ever get to learn anything about what he's like in private. Wouldn't it be fun to find out?"

"I don't know…"

"You don't always have to try to be the mature one, Mercie," Annette persisted. "I know you're just as curious as I am."

Mercedes gave her a glowing smile. "What can I say? You see right through me, Annie."

"Well, now, what sort of discussion are we having here?" The three ladies looked away from each other and spotted Claude advancing on them with Hilda at his side. "I heard there was something going on out by the dining hall, and now I see you three conspiring. Planning to start some trouble?"

"Nothing like that," said Dorothea. "It's rude to interrupt private conversations, Claude."

"You're not wrong, but it's in my nature to want to check in when lots of people are chatting about something and I'm not involved. Must be something interesting, yeah? Come on, let me in on it, and I'll make it worth your while."

"No deal. You don't have any information worth bargaining with anyway, Claude."

"Oh? Not even what the professor has been up to lately?"

Dorothea started. "The professor? Up to something? What do you mean?"

Claude wagged his finger at her. "Ah-ah-ah. Info for info. That's how this trade works."

Dorothea looked over at Hilda. "Can't you talk any sense into him?"

"As if. This is just his thing. His day just isn't complete until he's coaxed something out of somebody."

Claude laughed. "Hey, don't go starting rumors about _me_ now. I don't want to be made out as a wanton coaxer."

"Didn't seem to have a problem with coaxing _me_ the other day." Hilda folded her arms, looking away.

Claude's eyebrows shot up. "Whoa! L-Let's not give these ladies the wrong impression, Hilda! B-Besides, wasn't there something I told you about loose lips sinking ships?"

"Then consider this one sunk," Hilda replied. "Claude's been watching the professor, and he noticed that he's been spending more time than usual around the marketplace."

"Hilda…" Claude groaned.

The remaining ladies all exchanged looks.

Claude rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, now that I've been thoroughly humiliated, maybe you'll take pity on a contrite little schemer like me by satisfying my curiosity. Thoughts?"

Dorothea sighed. "It's just as well. As it happens, I've been watching the professor a bit, too. I noticed recently that he's been taking big arrangements of flowers with him on his walks around this time. Combined with what you've seen, I figured those flowers must be going to someone special."

"Oh, a romantic liaison, huh? I might have guessed as much. Now that _is_ interesting. I wonder… any idea who it might be?"

Dorothea shook her head. "That's what I was hoping to find out. But a certain scion of House Fraldarius got in the way."

"Ah, dear Felix. Too serious to see anything past the bridge of his own nose. He'd be a real menace if he thought about anything other than playing with his sword."

"Can we wrap this up?" Hilda whined. "You told me you were going to make good on your lunch debt to me, but now I'm starting to think you only said that to drag me out here."

"Perish the thought," said Claude. Hilda glared at him. "Er, right… So, we'll have to continue this conversation another time, but I think we're on to something. Keep this between us, and maybe we can discuss it more? After dark, say?"

Dorothea frowned. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Oh! That's not what I—"

She laughed. "Got you! Haha! Yes, let's meet and compare notes later."

"I'm bested once again," said Claude, shaking his head. "Maybe I really do need to eat something. I'm way off my game today." Hilda began to drag him toward the dining hall by his collar. He waved farewell to the three ladies.

"Well, there's our plan," Dorothea said with finality. "If anyone can help us figure out what's going on, it's Claude. So, you two can go back to your business, and I'll report our findings as soon as I learn anything new. Most importantly, though, you can't tell _anyone_ about this."

Annette and Mercedes nodded.

* * *

"And who told you about this?"

"Annette, Your Highness. She seemed very excited about it."

Dimitri sighed. "I'll have to give her a talking-to. She should know it's not appropriate to be digging into the personal affairs of the faculty."

"Indeed. Perhaps we should do so right away, so as to prevent the further spread of such information."

"Quite right." Dimitri stared at the wall.

"…Sire?"

"Hm?"

"You are not moving."

"Er, right. I was just about to… that is… uh, well… I, uh, had another thought, Dedue."

Dedue stared at his liege.

"I was thinking… what if the person the professor is seeing… what if they mean him harm? There have been many stirrings around Garreg Mach lately, so the idea of an assassin trying to lure one of the faculty into a death trap isn't out of the question."

"Certainly not."

"So… in that case… perhaps we should, er… investigate that subject ourselves? Without alerting anyone else? A-After all, if some unscupulous creature were making an attempt on the professor's life, we wouldn't want to give them the opportunity to escape, right? Better to catch them in the act."

Dedue said nothing.

"What do you think? We ought to try to put a stop to it, right?"

"I will do as you command, milord."

"Right, then. We'll investigate the marketplace this evening first, to see if there's anything suspicious."

* * *

"Why is this only coming to my attention now?"

"Apologies, Lady Edelgard. My sources have only just recently revealed all that I have told you. I endeavored to make you aware as soon as I learned of it."

"Well, take care that you're not slacking. It's not like you to be behind on anything, Hubert."

"My sincerest apologies. I will do all that I can to rectify my failure."

Edelgard pinched her chin. "Thankfully, things haven't progressed too far without my notice. Now that we are aware, however, we'll have to strike quickly if we want to stay in control of the situation."

Hubert bowed. "Of course. I will investigate immediately and report my findings as soon as possible."

"Steady, Hubert. We need to think carefully about our next move. We can't let our enemy know that we're aware of their movements. I think it would be best if we moved under cover of darkness. We also don't want to attract unnecessary attention from the professor."

"A prudent strategy as ever, my lady."

"And unlike your other missions, on this occasion, I will be accompanying you."

Hubert started. "Respectfully, Lady Edelgard, I do not think that approach is wise. If I were to fail my mission and be detected, I would gladly suffer no end of torment to avoid revealing your plans, but if you were to be apprehended with me, I fear there is little I could do to protect you."

Edelgard shook her head. "Still, it's paramount that I experience this first-hand. We're also in a unique situation, in that the professor will likely be more receptive to discovering me than you if we should be exposed."

"I hadn't considered that…" Hubert nodded. "Very well. I shall, as I ever have, endeavor to keep you safe, but I also ask that you proceed with all caution necessary to protect yourself." He bowed.

"Of course. There's nothing to fear: between the two of us, we will surely succeed."

* * *

Petra knelt to the ground, splaying her fingers across the stone. She moved those fingers back and forth while staring at them, then raised them to her face—first in front of her eyes, and then down to her nose, and finally to her lips. Satisfied, she stood up and walked along the edge of the fishing pond.

Ashe scratched his head. "Say, Ignatz, do you get the feeling something is… happening around the monastery?"

Ignatz nodded. "Yeah, there's been a strange, hectic energy about this place all day. People seem to be running around everywhere you look. I was trying to paint a quick landscape of the place today to capture that feeling, but it had me too anxious to sit still."

"Even Dimitri seemed unsettled. And I haven't seen Edelgard around for hours," Ashe added.

"It's really throwing off my napping schedule," Linhardt interjected. "And when I don't get a chance to nap properly, I stay fatigued all day."

"If even Linhardt is having trouble sleeping, we may be in serious trouble," Ashe decided. "Maybe we should talk to one of the faculty, to see if they know any more about what's going on."

"But who?" asked Ignatz. "I think the professor is busy, Catherine and Shamir are away on missions, Professor Manuela is… er, sleeping off another date, I believe, and Professor Hanneman has been in his lab all day."

"I wonder if Alois might know something," Ashe supposed.

Linhardt yawned. "No, that old fool barely knows what _he's_ doing. Let alone what other people are getting up to."

"Outta the way! Official secret mission business!" came a shout. Ashe and Ignatz moved aside as Raphael and Caspar came tearing by.

"Well, if those two are involved, it can't be _that_ important," Linhardt concluded. "I'm going to see if the greenhouse keeper will let me lock myself inside again so no one will bother me."

"I'm not sure how you can be so nonchalant," Ashe said through a furrowed brow. "Something is definitely wrong around here. I can't shake the feeling that everyone is… preparing for something."

"Come to think of it, when I saw Claude after lunch, he did have that usual 'I know something' twinkle in his eye," said Ignatz. "If it was that important, I wish he'd have shared it with me."

Their attention was suddenly captured by the sound of advancing footsteps. Seteth was walking quickly toward the pair. "Ashe, Ignatz, have either of you seen Flayn around recently? I assumed she'd be near the pond, but I can't seem to find her anywhere."

"Sorry, Seteth, I haven't seen her today," Ashe reported. Ignatz affirmed the same. "She hasn't gone missing again, has she?" asked Ashe, "I mean, you don't think anyone… took her, do you?"

"I pray it is not so," Seteth answered. "Some students say that they saw her earlier in the day, so she could not have gone far from the monastery, and yet… I have heard some disconcerting rumors that lead me to wonder where she might be."

"I'm sorry we can't be more help," said Ignatz.

"That is quite all right. I will simply need to expand my search," Seteth concluded. "Thank you both."

They nodded and saw Seteth off. "Yup." Ashe frowned. "Something is definitely not right today."

* * *

"No kidding. _Our_ professor? I almost didn't think he had it in him." Sylvain laughed. "Must be all the coaching I gave him."

"Do not act so casual, Sylvain," Ferdinand chided him. "This is a serious situation. Imagine the scandal if our professor were found to be associating himself with someone… uncouth."

"Couldn't be any less couth than you," Sylvain replied.

"How dare you! I—wait… that doesn't even make any sense!"

"You're both missing the point," Ingrid said with a sigh. "I'm not really worried about what the professor does in his off time, but people around the monastery have started to get really worked up about it. Claude is having secret meetings everywhere, Edelgard was extra jumpy, and I've even heard that His Highness is getting involved. This is a total mess. We have to calm it down somehow."

At once, Lorenz appeared among them. "I must agree."

"Gah!" Sylvain started. "Where'd you come from? Did you just materialize out of a cloud of cologne, or something?"

Lorenz glared at him. "If you had been paying attention, you would have easily noticed my approach several minutes ago. And my subsequent attempts to engage you in conversation."

"Yeah… sorry. I don't spend a lot of time looking for guys."

"You'll never be worthy of your noble bearing if you continue to act in such a flippant manner," said Lorenz. "If you have any sense of duty at all, you'll help us figure out what to do about the mounting tension here."

"Why not just introduce me to the girl? The professor's not bad, but after she meets me, I'm sure she'll forget all about him," said Sylvain.

Ingrid glowered at him. "One: that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say, and I've known you since you were five. Two: we don't yet know who that girl might be. Or even… ahem, er, _if_ it's a girl."

"Oh, right!" Sylvain nodded. "I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, that might be out of my area of expertise."

"Not the point, Sylvain."

"I believe the most responsible course of action is to speak to the professor directly," said Ferdinand. "If we understand his intentions, we can dismiss all the rumors and get things back to normal."

Lorenz scoffed. "Your earnestness is admirable, Ferdinand, but your politicking lacks for real world experience. Do you not think that the professor might be loath to simply lay the entirety of his personal life at our feet? Surely, he will have things he will want to conceal."

"Then we will simply persist in our inquiry until he volunteers them!"

"Hopeless." Lorenz placed his head in his palm. "We will obviously need to confront the professor eventually, but not until we can gather more information. If we are to find what we need, it would be best to marshal as many cohorts as we can. Leonie was practicing with Captain Jeralt today, which means she will not be leaving his side, and… well, I hate to separate Marianne from Dorte. I doubt she would be very interested in gathering intelligence for us…"

"And Lysithea's been in the library since four o'clock this morning," Ingrid reported. "That leaves us with…"

"Absolutely nobody," Sylvain finished for her.

"Do not despair," said Lorenz, "I will speak to agents of my family and concoct a plan. I will inform you of it shortly, and we shall succeed, for you will be under the guidance of Lorenz Hellman Gloucester!"

"Not to be outdone, I shall also find us some capable hands from my own family," said Ferdinand. "We will know triumph by the name of Ferdinand von Aegir!"

With that, the nobles quickly hurried off. Ingrid watched them leave, and Sylvain shook his head.

"And I am Sylvain Jose Gettinouttahere. Sorry, Ingrid, but even I'm only willing to put up with so much excitement. I think I'll just wait out the next few hours in that nice little café at the base of the mountain."

"Wait. For once, I'm going with you."

* * *

"You never even knew your mother. I'm surprised you have any interest in such gestures," Sothis remarked.

"Even if I didn't know her, it seems… right, I suppose. I feel compelled to give her something," Byleth replied.

Sothis threw up her hands. "I shall never understand human sentimentality. But… with that said, I feel a bit sad when I think about it, too. Then, it's decided: you'll start giving her two gifts—one from you, and one from me."

"Are you going to pay for yours?"

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"I don't know. Do ghosts have wallets? Or money? Have you checked your back pockets?"

"Oh, ha ha. You're being 'funny' again, eh? What have I told you about reserving your wit for the appropriate time?"

"What? Does that mean you're not even going to check?"

"You weren't…?! Even if something so ludicrous were to be true, how do you imagine I'd give my money to a vendor, hm?"

"Good point. Oh well."

"'Oh well?' Honestly, do you even listen to yourself?!"

"Yes, but I'm never very interested in what I have to say."

"I… you are just impossible, you know that?"

"I have been told."

Suddenly, there came a crash from behind Byleth, prompting him to whip around quickly, sword drawn. He stared into the darkness and was surprised to see Dimitri emerge from it. Just as quickly, the professor sheathed his sword again. "Dimitri. You surprised me."

"I wouldn't know it to look at you, professor," Dimitri replied. He laughed sheepishly. "Um, please pardon my intrusion."

"No worries. I wasn't doing anything in particular. Just enjoying the night air."

"Ah, but, and forgive me if I'm mistaken, were you not having a conversation with someone just a moment ago?"

"That was just Sothis. She can wait."

"S-Sothis?" Dimitri cocked an eyebrow. "You were communicating with… Sothis, professor?"

"Yes. She talks to me a lot. Sometimes, I talk to her if I don't know what to do."

"Oh, I see. Apologies, professor, but because of your background, I didn't take you for a particularly religious man. I can see now that my presumptions were misguided."

"Religious…?" Byleth shook his head. "Whatever you're worried about, Dimitri, I assure you it's no problem. But I do have to ask: why are you out here so late? Where did you come from that made so much noise?"

Dimitri felt his face heat up, his cheeks glowing and burning. "Well, this is all quite silly when I think about it, but… see, some of the students had gotten it into their heads that you were… that is, they thought the person you were talking to was someone you were… interested in, you see? And so, I decided it was in everyone's best interest if I learned the truth for myself, so I hid in that tree and observed you… Then the limb I was waiting on snapped, and… Agh, please forgive me. I feel so ashamed for bothering you like this."

"Really, Dimitri, it's fine. Nothing worth worrying about. I'm glad you're concerned about me, but I'm doing just fine."

"Beg pardon? Y-You're… glad, hm?" Regarding his professor's face, Dimitri could see that it was true. The slightest of smiles was tugging at the corners of Byleth's mouth. "W-Well, then. I see no reason to disturb you any further. Please, excuse me, professor. Good night."

"Good night, Dimitri. Sleep well."

Dimitri sighed. "Yes, I think I shall."

Byleth watched Dimitri retreat into the dark, then heard a series of groans and sighs as the vegetation around him all seemed to move at once. More ghosts?

"This mission is a failure. Get us out of here, Hubert."

"Right away, Lady Edelgard."

"A _smile_. That dastard Dimitri got a _smile_."

Before Byleth could investigate the voices, they began vanishing.

"So, the flowers were for his mother's grave… so much for my intuition. Dammit."

"This is officially the worst week I've had in years. I'm gonna need to go home and reevaluate my whole intel-gathering operation."

"Reevaluate whatever you want. I'm not helping with any more of this stupid junk until you pay me back for the rest of that food."

More and more footsteps and voices emerged from the area around the marketplace until it seemed the entire monastery was alive on that spot. Then, they all gradually faded out while Byleth stood in the epicenter, bewildered.

"These children are so strange," Sothis said with a sigh. "Are you sure you wish to go on teaching them?"

"They're all good kids," Byleth replied. "Strange, yes, but their hearts are in the right places. Although I can't imagine what all that was about."

"Did you not understand the blond one? He thought you and I were… _involved_."

"Involved in what?"

"Oh, come now. Surely even you know what it means for a man and woman to be seeing each other late at night."

"…Their eyes will need to adjust to the dark?"

Sothis glared at him. "How is it that you were given a role as an educator?"

"It's not something I asked for."

"I suppose that is true enough." She thought for a moment, then let out a tremendous yawn. "In any case, today's events have left me quite exhausted. I'll leave you to your devices now, but do try to go to bed at a reasonable hour." Byleth nodded.

When he could no longer hear any trace of Sothis's voice, he ventured deeper into the marketplace and leaned over a stall that was bathed in moonlight.

"Well, hello," purred a voice from nearby. "If it isn't my favorite customer." A woman with a red ponytail stepped forth from the shadows to greet him from the other side of the stall.

"I missed you," Byleth told her, placing his hand in hers. "I have to tell you what a strange night I've had."


End file.
